Love me for who I am
by blu-babe
Summary: Naruto, tired of the drama between his two best friends, writes a creative story to make them realize how much they need eachother. Language and adult themes, more so in second chapter, coming soon-ish. SasuXSaku NaruXHina  in next chapter
1. Chapter 1

He walked through the tall gates of the village for the first time in five years, escorted by no less then twelve anbu, not that he had fought against the idea of returning. He had always planned to return, at least to find out what had become of his team. He had not exactly planned to have his brother walking beside him, but circumstances had changed.

The villagers stared in shock as the watched the last two Uchiha walk calmly down the street. They didn't know whether to be angry or joyous. As the anbu passed by, carrying the heads of Orochimaru, Madara and Kibito they began to cheer and cry out joyously as the raven haired men walked by.

A pink haired woman watched in disgust as the two made their way down the street, she couldn't believe how forgiving the villagers were willing to be towards them. She scowled as she slammed her window shut with all her strength, causing the Uchiha to turn their heads in her direction. She briefly met the gaze of the boy she had loved since she was eight and gave him a nasty look before turning away.

"Teme!" Naruto shouted as the doors to his new office opened. "You're finally back!" He jumped out his chair and ran over to his best friend, catching him in a strong hug. "I almost gave up hope that were going to come back," He said with his usual enthusiasm, letting go of the younger Uchiha. "Granted, I never thought you'd bring Itachi with you alive."

The two Uchiha shrugged and Itachi turned to look out the window, "Things changed once I told him the truth." His voice sent a shiver down Naruto's spine, but he shrugged it off, too happy to care.

"Where is Sakura?" Sasuke asked with mild surprise, he had half expected to be glomped by her the moment he got through the door. Naruto frowned and shrugged, "Who cares? It's probably better she's not here, if you know what I mean." He strolled back to his desk and picked up a pen with a new grin, "As Hokage, I grant you full pardon for any and all crimes, past, present and future! Believe it!" He scribbled across the bottom of a scroll and threw the pen back on his desk. "Let's get Ramen."

Itachi and Sasuke warily followed the blond out of his office and were mildly concerned that the citizens were still cheering their names in the streets.

Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why on earth Naruto had gone so cold when he had mentioned Sakura. As far as he remembered, the blond dobe had always loved the pinkette. It was obvious that he wasn't going to get any answers now though. He decided to wait until later to try and find someone who would tell him.

Sakura paced back and forth around her living room, growling to herself. She could not believe the nerve of the people around here. A few people had apparently noticed her glare at Sasuke and had decided to come teach her a lesson. They got a few hits in before she lost control and ripped them limb from limb, throwing them out the window. She threw herself on the couch with a hiss and decided that she really needed to leave this place. Perhaps she could trick someone into letting her out of this prison.

Her lips, covered in blood, twisted into a rather evil smirk and her eyes flashed dangerously. Perhaps she could use the traitor, then the village would hate him like they should. That could be fun.

By the end of dinner, Naruto was stumbling drunkenly beside Sasuke. Itachi had decided to go home and rest while his little brother grilled the Hokage for information.

"Dobe, where is pinky?" Sasuke tried to make his voice stutter so that Naruto would believe he was drunk as well. The blond scrunched his face and sighed. "Why do you keep asking?" His voice was unsteady as he tried to sober up a little.

"I'm curious. That's all." He shrugged back, dropping the act, having a feeling that Naruto wasn't buying it. "Yeah well curiosity killed the shinobi."

Sasuke shrugged again, "Don't care. Just wanna know." The blond sighed, "Ok. I'll give you the story, but we can't go see her. That's pretty much a death wish."

They sat on a close by bench, and Naruto sighed. "It starts right here. The night you left she was out wandering around alone and decided to sleep on the bench. This bench. When she was found in the morning we found her naked, with a cursed mark on her neck, covered in virgin blood."

Sasuke felt fear grip his heart as the blond told his story, Orochimaru had taunted him with a version of that tale for five years, he'd never thought it had any merit. Apparently he was wrong.

"After a couple weeks, we discovered she was pregnant. She kept lying and telling us she was rapped, but we knew better. We all knew she was weak. He gave her the mark of power. We all tried our best to get the child out of her, and kill it, but the mark kept protecting it."

Sasuke stared wide eyed at the man beside him. He actually believed that Sakura, little Sakura, would have willingly bore Orochimaru's child for power. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Now he was convinced the whole village had lost their minds.

"When she had the baby, the cursed mark activated and she turned into a creature more horrifying than I've ever seen. We drowned the baby and locked her up in an old, abandoned apartment building near the gates. Every now and then she gets out, the curse activates and she turns into a monster. Even if she didn't transform, I'd still have her in isolation for having Orochimaru's child willingly."

Sasuke slammed his fists into the bench, startling Naruto as he finished speaking. "Oi! What the hell bastard!" He exclaimed, noticing how tense Sasuke was.

"All these years... I always thought Orochimaru was lying when he told me he-" "-seduced your old teammate?" Sasuke made a gagging noise before continuing, "He rapped her. He told me from the moment I got there, that he had forced her to carry a child, and forced a cursed mark upon her, much the same way he did to me."

Naruto twitched as he listened, slowly beginning to question his own judgements as Hokage.

"I never believed him. I hoped she was still waiting for me. I hoped it hadn't happened because I had knocked her unconscious as declared her love for me, and left her on the bench."

Naruto felt the blood drain from his face, he had never known Sasuke to lie about important things, so that only left one possibility. He had betrayed Sakura in her hour of need because he hadn't believed her.

"We have to fix things." He mummbled, sliding off the bench to sit on the ground as Sasuke walked away.

Sasuke stared up at the building drenched with blood before him. He was sure this was the one he had caught a glimpse of her in earlier. Although, there had been no blood then. He silently entered the building and found graffiti on the walls claiming the monster was on the sixth floor. He could only assume it referred to Sakura. He read all the little notes on the wall, most written in blood. They seemed to be pointers towards her weaknesses. He guessed they tried to kill her often, and failed. So whomever got out before she could kill them wrote things down for the next. It left him cold inside and out to see this.

He slowly made his way down the hall of doors on the sixth floor, stopping once he reached the only closed door. He opened it hesitantly, and was surprised to see the bright room behind the door, and not just Sakura sitting on the couch. He recognized the other three women from the acadamy days sitting around her.

Sakura smirked as Ino, Tenten and Hinata sat around her in the living room as they finished cleaning the blood from the walls. They were the only ones in the village that didn't hate her, and they even lived in the apartment with her. None of them was as dangerous as she was, but they were shunned too.

"I think I know how we can get out ladies." Sakura said smoothly leaning back into the cushions and crossing her legs. "We can use the Uchiha. We just need to lure him in."

She heard the the door swing open and looked up with mild surprise. The other girls turned to see who had come and shrieked.

"You don't need to lure me anywhere. I'm getting you out of here." He stated calmly, trying to control his anger as he saw how scrawny all the girls were. The cursed mark was spread out over Sakura's skin, covering most of her body and face, but he could still make out how her rib cage popped out.

She stood up from the couch and prowled her way over to him until she was an inch from his face, "Really? I've heard that a few times already today. Or something along those lines. So how do you plan to try and kill me? Rip my heart out? Poison me? Rip me limb from limb?" She never let her gaze leave his as her words became angry and the cursed mark began to glow green.

Sasuke kept his face even as she started to lose her temper. "I don't." He said simply, watching confusion replace her anger in a flash.

"You don't what?" She hissed, backing away from him slightly.

"Plan to kill you. I may go beat the dobe within an inch of his life, after he gets over the shock I left him in." His eyes stayed on hers and he took an authoritative step foreword, getting close enough to grab her arms.

Fire shot through her body when he touched her and she-

* * *

"Naruto UZUMAKI! This dribble has gone on long enough!" The teacher roared, cutting of the seventeen year old boy that was standing in front of the class. "This is Literature class! Your assignment was to write a short story WITHOUT murder and mayhem! And without casting the Science teacher as a pedophile rapist!"

The blond boy smiled sheepishly, "I know Anko-sama. But that story was boring and this one was much more interesting! Look! everyone's paying attention!" He exclaimed pointing at the rest of his classmates, who were all leaning forward in their desks (except two, who were trying to shrink out of sight) waiting for him to continue.

Anko groaned and threw the chalkboard eraser at his head, hitting him right between the eyes. "You will bring the appropriate assignment tomorrow or so help me I will fail you back to second grade!" She sat back down in her chair and shooed him back to his seat between the only two students not enthralled by the story. She would have given him a detention, but she figured that the Uchiha boy and the Haruno girl would probably kill him before he could show up for it.

The final bell of the day rang and the usual stampede of students was taking place, and only three students were still sitting in their class room. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto.

Anko walked out of the room with a smirk, "Don't leave a mess." She called out, leaving the three alone.

"NAAAARRRRRRRUTTTTOOOOOOOO!" Sakura shriek jumping out of her seat to try and strangle the blond sitting beside her. She could not believe he had made up such a story about her and her ex boyfriend, of all people.

Sasuke waited patiently for his turn with the dobe as he watched Sakura attempt to strangle him. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked when she was angry. He had never told her so when they had been dating, because he wasn't one to voice his emotions. They had been together since they were fifteen, and had never done more then hold hands. She had broken up with him almost a month ago now, claiming she only wanted to be friends.

Sakura eventually gave up trying to get her hands on the blonde as he ran away from her, too emotionally exhausted to chase him anymore. She flashed a look of betrayal at him, making the blond wince, and let out a heavy sigh, collecting the books from her desk. "I can't believe you could be so cruel, Naruto." She whispered as she passed him on her way out of the room.

She had thought that her blond best male friend had understood how much she was hurting after having broken up with Sasuke after two years. Obviously she had been wrong to assume he understood her at all.

Naruto glared at the ground as he walked home, rubbing his bruised arm (Sasuke had punched him incredibly hard and then left without another word, shortly after Sakura.)

He hasn't thought they'd get that mad at him. He was kind of hoping the story would help them get back together, because they had both been extremely violent towards him and each other since they split up.

"I'll just have to try again tomorrow." He mumbled, stumbling up the walkway to his house.

* * *

Anko was hardly surprised the next day when she found Sasuke brooding across the room from Naruto, and Sakura absent. "Naruto, I want you to read the appropriate story now." She said sternly, as he made his way to the front of the class. "Yeah, yeah." He grumbled, pulling a crumpled paper out of his pocket.

He smoothed in out and tapped it to the blackboard, showing everyone that it was a printed photo of Sasuke and Sakura, though the face's were scribbled out.

"There once was a spoiled ass rich-" "LANGUAGE!" Anko shreiked, making the blonde boy sigh. "There once was a spoiled rich brat prince, and he fell in love with a poor maid girl that was as sweet as sugar. They dated in secret for two years, because he didn't want the world to know he was dating someone below him, so they never kissed or hugged. Ever."

Naruto could feel the glare Sasuke was shooting at him, but he ignored it. That bastard was going to realize what a mistake it was to let Sakura get away.

"And every day she told her best friend, who was a noble man, about her heart aches and her fears and insecurities. She told him how she wanted the prince to stop being ashamed of her and their love. One night, after two years of secrecy and lies, she told her best friend that she could bear no more, and she broke up with the prince."

Sasuke stood up from his chair, grinding his teeth together as he made his way to the door.

"But every day after she broke up with the prince, she told her best friend how her heart ached. And how she would sit at the pond hoping that maybe the prince would come to her and be willing to be with her publicly."

Sasuke froze as he reached for the door knob, and spun around to face his idiot of a friend. "What pond?" He asked coldly, having had enough of Naruto's constant insults.

"The one she almost drowned in when she was a child. Where she first met the prince." He answered, knowing that Sasuke was going after her. He felt a smile tug on his lips as the raven haired teen left the classroom, and decided to give his story a happy ending.

"And one day the bratty prince realized he couldn't live without her, so he ditched his title and they got married and made babies together. The end." He took down the picture he had taped up, whistling merrily, and gave Anko a big grin as he returned to his seat.

Sakura sat on the edge of the dock, watching ducks swim by, tossing them bits of her sandwich. She hadn't been able to walk into the class today. She had tried, but when she saw Sasuke turn into the hall way she had panicked and bolted. And she had come here. This was the only place she felt at peace now.

She looked down at her ipod as it played soft, sad music into her ears. She scrolled through a play list until she found her break-up song. The song that had given her the courage to say enough's enough to Sasuke.

She turned the volume up, to drown out the sounds of nature.

Sasuke drove around town, trying to remember where the pond was. He hadn't been there in ten years. Try as he might, he couldn't recall. This called for drastic measures.

He parked at the next gas station he saw and made his way inside. He, the great Uchiha, was going to buy a map. He found the little map book of the area and inwardly scowled as he picked it up. He couldn't believe he had to resort to buying a map. He made his way to the register, stopping to grab himself a coke, and a bottle of vitaminwater for Sakura. It might entice her to stick around to listen. As an after thought he grabbed a box of strawberry pocky as well. To guarantee she stayed.

He paid for the items and left the store, immediately opening the map book, looking for any and all ponds or lakes near his or Sakura's houses. He mentally crossed off the three had checked already.

Sakura was looking down at the pictures in her lap. She knew it was probably time to let go and heal, she couldn't keep all these reminders of Sasuke. It was too painful.

She held up the most recent picture of them and sighed. In the picture, she was starring at him with adoration in her eyes, and he was looking the other way out of boredom. It was taken on Valentines day. She ripped it in half, lined up the pieces, and tore it in half again. It felt good, she realized, to vent her anger on her copies of the pictures.

She picked up another one, from his last birthday, he was glaring at the lemon cake she had made for him. She knew he didn't like sweets, so the cake had been very tart, but he hadn't even been willing to try it. She ripped it into several pieces and tossed them into the pond, smiling when a duck swam over and prodded its beak at the piece with Sasuke's sour face on it. Even the ducks thought he was being mean.

She got half way through the pile before she paused. This picture was from their first 'date', they were holding hands on his couch, watching a horror movie. She studdied his face, noting the tiny smirk, and how his eyes were on her, instead of the screen. She gripped it tightly between her fingers and tried to tear it up, but she couldn't. It was the only picture she had that he had acknowledged her in, without a glare. She set it down beside her and continued her way through the stack.

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he crossed off the last pond in the area. He still hadn't found her. His phone rang loudly, causing him to jump. He flipped it open and was met by the voice of the dobe.

_"Teme!"_Naruto shouted, making Sasuke wince, "What dobe?" _"Sakura's not at the place I thought she was! She's-"_Sasuke swore and threw the map book on the passenger seat. "For fuck's sake dobe, you better know where she actually is, or I'm going to kill you!"

Naruto gulped on the other end and nodded, although he knew Sasuke couldn't see it, _"I do teme! She's at the lake we went camping at last summer. The one with the old wooden dock she liked to sit on." _

Sasuke shut his phone and pulled a quick U-turn. That lake was about half an hour away. He could make it in Ten minutes if he drove fast enough though.

Sakura glared at her phone, Naruto had just called to see if Sasuke had found her yet. She told him that she was alone, and happy that he hadn't found her. But the crafty blonde coaxed her into telling him where she was, and he seemed rather upset that she had gone up to the lake and cabin alone. The idiot had forgotten that her favourite pond had been filled in with cement and was now a bar.

She only had a few pictures left, ones she couldn't bear to destroy. They were special. The few moments in time that had been captured that reminded her that Sasuke had feelings for her. It was easy to be mad when he was glaring at her, or ignoring her, but it was so hard to be mad when he smiled. Tearing up these pictures, to her, would be like kicking a puppy. She just couldn't do it.

She watched the sky, unable to look at the pictures anymore, as dark clouds rolled in. It looked like maybe there would be a thunder storm. She picked up the last couple of pictures that were whole and made her way to the cabin by the lake. She had already made up her mind to stay up here for a while. She had two boxes of memrobillia to get rid of, and it was easier to do up on the mountain.

She opened the door and kicked off her shoes, deciding a nice hot shower would help her relax.

* * *

Sasuke practically jumped out of the car when he finally got to the cabin. He headed straight for the dock, but he didn't like what he saw when he got there. He found about two dozen torn pieces of his face floating in the water. Ouch. She must be pissed this time. Even when they had broken up she hadn't done anything like this.

For the first time, he wondered if he had done the right thing, coming all this way to bother her when she obviously wanted to be alone. He turned around to leave as the rai started to fall, only to see Sakura standing in the front door of the cabin.

Sakura had nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a car screech to a stop on the gravel outside of the cabin. She was so sure it was Naruto that she stormed outside, only to see Sasuke making his way to the dock. She stood, frozen in the door way until he turned around and made his way back towards the car. They locked gazes and he froze as well.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke sat on the couch inside the cabin, drying his hair with a towel. He felt pretty stupid. Sakura had thrown a fit when he tried to offer her the pocky. Like he had expected that to make it _all_ better. What the hell had he been thinking.

_Flash back_

_"What the hell are you doing?" She shouted, knocking the very pathetic attempt at an apology out of his hand. He seemed to be in shock as the small box of pocky fell into a puddle. _

_She quickly turned around when she realized he wouldn't answer, and stromed back inside. She knew if she didn't get away from him soon she would crack. She always did. That was why it had taken so long for her to call it quits._

_Sasuke felt anger bubble up in his chest as she slammed the door, startling the ducks. One duck in particular was so startled, it flew directly at him, he threw up his arms, the keys slipping out of his now wet fingers. He froze as he heard the tell tale 'plunk' of the keys hitting the pond, and falling to their doom. "Fuck." He cursed, kicking the direction the duck had taken off in. He stalked over to the pond and began searching for the keys._

_He was unsuccessful, not surprisingly as he had not seen them hit the water, and had no idea where to look. Now completely soaked, he made his way to the cabin. Now he had no choice but to stay._

_end flash back_

Sakura gently stirred her tea, trying to keep her thoughts off of the boy in the living area of the cabin. _'Just great, I came here to get over him, and now he's stuck with me. Fan-fucking-tastic.'_ She thought sourly, taking a sip.

Her now dead phone was sitting on the counter beside her, alerting her to the helpless situation she was now in. She hadn't spent any time alone with him in several months, and it was even harder for her to imagine doing so now.

She picked up the second mug of tea and made her way back to the living room. "Here." She said quickly, offering him the bitter green tea, she knew it was his favourite. He seemed surprised as he recognized the smell coming from the cup. "Is this-" "It's all that was in the cupboard. That's all." She said hurriedly.

She most certainly was not going to admit she had brought it up here herself. Not to him at least, perhaps, when she got back, Ino would get the information out of her. But he would never know.

He nodded stifly, of course he hadn't been foolish enough to think that she had..._'had what? Bought the tea to remind her of me?'_ He thought bitterly, _'Naruto is not just a lying idiot, but a dead one when I get home.'_

Night fell quickly on the cabin. After having finished her tea, she had fled his presence. Now, though, she had to decide whether or not to go take him a blanket or not. She knew that, at least as a polite gesture, she should. But, then again, when had he ever done such for her? Or rather, when had he done so since they had begun to date? He used to, when they were just friends, he was nicer then.

She sighed and flopped down on the small bed, "Let him find his own damn blankets." She wasn't going to show him that kind of generosity, not when he wouldn't show her the same.

Sasuke frowned as he watched the clock tick past eleven. He hadn't heard any movement from the room she was in for almost two hours. He flipped open his phone and dialed the dobe's number.

_"Y'ello?" _Came a very sleepy voice, allerting him to the fact he had woken up the idiot, not that he cared. It was all Naruto's fault anyway, right?

"She left me on the couch without a fucking blanket." He heard a small, confused pause, followed by a chuckle.

_"Oh boo hoo teme. You did that to her for almost two years."_

"I did not. I always-" He was cut off abruptly, _"-no you didn't. At least not after you started dating. You __**used**__ to do that, back when we were younger."_

"I-I...that was to keep anyone from suspecting we were going out! You know I-" _"-yeah, yeah. I did. She didn't. All she saw was you treating her like she was less of a friend."_ He growled at being cut off a second time. He wasn't the most patient person ever.

"Grrr...whatever dobe. She didn't have to leave me to freeze." He was almost surprised by the response he received. _"Yeah, well, you reap what you sow teme."_ There was a soft click, indicating that Naruto, of _all_ people Naruto, had just hung up on him.

He snapped the phone shut and tossed it at the wall. He rolled over to face the back of the couch and shut his eyes. He doubted he'd get a decent sleep, but he could damn well try and spite her.

Sakura woke up early, weighed down with guilt at not having given Sasuke a blanket the night before. She climbed out of the small bed with a sigh, grabbing a spare blanket from the closet. It was about three in the morning now, and if she at least gave him the blanket now, he might not end up sick.

She snuck into the living room, tip toeing to the couch, only to find it vacant. She checked the whole cabin with a frown, finding him gone. Even his car was gone, although, as she stepped outside, wrapped in the spare blanket, she could see broken glass from his driver's side window.

Wow. He broke into and hot wired his own car to leave because she didn't bring him a blanket sooner. "SNOB!" She shouted into the chilly air, tears forming in her eyes, "IT'S NOT VERY NICE TO BE THE ONE BEING TREATED LIKE DIRT, IS IT!"

She drove to school monday morning, having spent the rest of the weekend up at the cabin, with a dim outlook for the day. She was determined to get her classes changed first thing. There was no way she was going to sit near him again. She was far too angry.

It had taken surprisingly little to convince the office to change her schedule, although she had been unable to bring herself to leave Anko's class. She was the best teacher the school had, and the only one without a set seating arrangement. So, Sakura could sit as far away from him as she wanted.

Naruto spent the morning looking for his pink haired best friend, they had always been in the same class, ever since kindergarten. So it came as a nasty shock to him, when he got literature after lunch, and she told him she'd changed all her other classes around.

"This is because of Sasuke-teme isn't it!" He shouted, causing everyone to trun and stare, Sasuke included. Sakura glared at the blond and shook her head, "I wouldn't let that bastard chase me out of anything. I just wanted a change. That's all." She wouldn't speak to him after that.

A month passed, and the whole school had now figured out, via Naruto's loud-ass mouth, about what had transpired between Sasuke and Sakura. He was now being avoided by the fangirls, who spent most of their time attacking Sakura.

Sasuke would fume silently as he watched bimbo's (Like Karin, and her drones) torment Sakura. He knew Karin was extra pissed because he had now given up the status of 'Uchiha heir' and torn up the arranged marriage contract. The damn piece of paper that had been the reason he couldn't openly date Sakura. He had never been ashamed of her.

After a particularly nasty run in between the two, he couldn't take it anymore. He tracked Karin down during the lunch break, destroyed her with insults, and wound up suspended for a week.

Fugaku glared at the figure standing on the door step. The little twit (which had always been his opinion of the girl) that had caused the suspension of his would-be heir, was standing there, demanding to be let in. No doubt so she could try and worm her way back into Sasuke's graces.

He pushed the intercom button and said roughly, "Get off my property." He was surprised when she began to hammer on the door, screaming, "Oh hell no! Let me at that spoiled brat! I need to give him a piece of my mind! How the hell could he go and do that!" Fugaku was about to repeat himself when Mikoto walked by and casually opened the door with a grin.

"Oh, Sakura-chan! Oh it's been forever! Please, come in! Let me get us some tea." Her words seemed to have take the pinkette off guard long enough for her to be dragged through the house and into the kitchen by the Uchiha matriarch. "I really just came to-"

"Oh, don't worry, there will be planty of time to scold him later. You and I need to have a girl talk!" Mikoto hummed as she boiled water for the tea.

Sakura sat at the counter, smiling for the first time in a while, "Well... I know... it sounds stupid. I just can't help it." She had told Mikoto about the incident at the cabin, and been moderately surprised that Mikoto had not been shocked. "I've always loved him. Ever since he stole my crayons on the second day of kindergarten."

Mikoto smiled softly, "Oh, trust me, I know what that feels like dear. It was the same between Fugaku and myself, though he stole my pencil case."

Sasuke huffed at the tv in his room, all the good channels had been blocked when he got suspended, and grounded. His internet had been cut off, his game stations had been taken away, and his father had dumped millitary school brochures on his desk as a threat against any further disobedience.

He stood up slowly, turning off the tv and tossing the remote behind him, and made his way towards the stairs. The one thing he was still allowed to leave his room for was food. If nothing else, it was a way to pass the time of his incarceration. When he stepped into the kitchen he nearly choked on his own spit, and dashed back out the door before either his mother or Sakura could spot him. What the HELL was she doing here?

"Fugaku and I dated in secret too, when we were in the tenth grade. From what I've heard and seen, Sasuke takes after his father far too much. And for that, I'm sorry dear." Sakura raised an eyebrow at Mikoto and sighed, "Don't be. I was the one silly enough to believe he would treat me very well." The matriarch shook her head and placed her hands over Sakura's, "No, I am very sorry. I tried to teach him that he didn't have to be so cold. But, he's just always tried too hard to please his father."

Sasuke quickly took his eyes away from the table, where he had been looking from his hiding place, and swore as he caught a glimpse of not only Fugaku, and Itachi, but Itachi's _wife_ as well. They seemed to be eaves dropping too. And Fugaku did _not_ look happy. Fuck, now he was going to get punished for this too, no doubt.

Sakura nodded sadly. "That may be true, I noticed, how he would hold onto each thing he was told to do, but, that's why it's my fault, Mikoto. I know that Mr. Uchiha doesn't like me. And, if I hadn't asked Sasuke out, then the arranged marriage might not have been forced on him. I should have just stayed quiet."

Fugaku furrowed his eyebrows as he listened to his wife's confession to the young 'twit'. Surely he wasn't being that hard on his youngest son. He was just trying to prepare him to take over the family business, which was now not going to happen, thanks to the pink haired girl. He was about to walk off in a manly huff when he spotted Sasuke peeking around a cabinet into the kitchen. In a vain attempt to prove himself right in his own mind, he searched his son's face, looking for the cool indifference that would prove Sasuke didn't care for the twit and had merely been trying to disobey him. He didn't find it. What he did find, shocked him.

Sakura stood from the table quietly, having finished her tea, "Thank you, Mikoto, for the tea. I should be going though." The matriarch shook her head, "You haven't done what you came to do yet. You still have to knock some sense into my boy." Her voice was stern and motherly, making Sakura stiffen slightly. "OH, no, really, don't make me! I was angry when I found out he threw away his future, but, I don't think he'll listen to a single thing I say."

Mikoto stared down the young, flustered pinkette and sighed. "Very well, I can't make you, although, you may not get another chance. Fugaku has been making arrangements to-" "I have changed my mind about that." Fugaku cut his wife off, before she could finish her sentence, storming into the room angrily. He was furious that instead of finding what he had hoped to find, he saw that his son was very much in love with the pink haired girl.

He had recognized the pain in his son's eyes, as he had felt that way when his own father had tried to come between him and Mikoto. After some gentle prodding from his oldest son, whom had agreed to reclaim the titl of Uchiha heir, he decided to give them a chance. Besides, Sasuke was dragging his ass at school anyway.

Sakura's eyes widened, as Fugaku passed the table, and went into the hallway, only to pull Sasuke into the kitchen by his arm. _'Oh great, I come here to talk sense into him, and instead I not only blow our cover to the whole clan, but I get him in __**further**__ trouble. FUCK.'_

Sasuke averted his eyes from everyone as his father dragged him into the room, forcing him into the most akward situation ever.

"I was watching Sasuke as he spied on your conversation just now," Fugaku stated dryly, tightening his grip as said boy tried to get away before he could be scolded, "and I have decided that, perhaps, I was asking too much of him." Mikoto gave her husband a warning glare as their eldest stepped into the room, with his own wife close behind.

"What father means, mother, is that he was being twice as hard on Sasuke as he had been on myself." Itachi stepped in casually, preventing the arguement before it could start. "I didn't know, when I passed the torch to Sasuke, that he had his own plans, and so I take it back."

Sasuke glared at his brother ferociously. He was such a LIAR. He had know that Sasuke had plans. He dumped that crap on him not more than a week after he had agreed to go out with Sakura. _"It'll help you over your '__**infatuation**__'"_ he had said. Never once considering that perhaps his little brother was more than just 'infatuated' with the pinkette.

Mikoto watched her youngest glare and turned to Sakura, who seemed to be in genuine shock. "Don't try and sweet talk me young man." She said sternly, helping Sakura back down into her seat. The poor girl would fall over if she stayed standing like that.

Fugaku cleared his throat, silencing the reply on his eldest son's lips. "As I was saying, I was too hard on the boy. Only because I see so much of myself in him." He released Sasuke, fairly certain that he would be too shocked to move anyway. "Which is why he will remain the heir. However, I will not force him to marry miss Kanchen (Karin.)"

Sasuke turned to his father with startled eyes, he had no clue why his father was being so generous, but he found himself unable to question it. Fortunately for him, Sakura regained her tongue at that moment. "Why not? I was under the impression you wanted to merge companies?"

All attention was drawn to the pinkette, and Sasuke's eyes went from shocked to panic, afraid of his father's answer.

"Their company has gone bankrupt-" He started, haughtily, earning another glare from his wife, a silent warning. "-And, I can't do to him what my father tried to do to me." He said defeatedly. The room stayed silent for a few moments as Sasuke gathered his wits and courage. When he had them, he ventured a question that less than two hours ago had been cause for the threat of military school. "So I can marry whoever I choose then?"

His question hung in the air, making Sakura curse herself for feeling a sudden hope she was certain would be crushed momentarily.

"Ye-" "I choose Sakura." He interrupted his father as soon as he heard the possitive answer forming. There was another moment of silence, and then there was a loud 'thunk'.

Sakura had fainted. "Oh dear!" Mikoto sighed, picking up the young pinkette immediately, "Poor girl, she needs to rest. Sasuke, you could have used more tact." She playfully scolded her son, although it was easy for everyone in the room to see how happy she was. "I'll take her to my room, she can rest on the bed, and I'll take her home when she wakes up." He said calmly, taking his future-wife from his mother's arms.

Inside his chest his heart was hammering double time as he walked carefully up the stair to his room.

Sakura woke up a few hours later, warm and cozy in a giant bed she almost didn't recognize. She was about to freak out, until she noticed the batman sheets on the bed. Oh. She was just in Sasuke's room.

She climbed out of the bed gingerly, nearly falling over as her head began to swim. "Ow." She whispered, bringing her hand up to her temples.

Sasuke had dozed off on the couch in the living room about an hour ago, after his mother had dragged him out to a jewellry store, and several other 'romantic places' to prepare him for the next evening. She had demanded he propose properly to Sakura, despite the fact that they were not even old enough to marry. She'd wanted him to do it tonight, but he'd casually reminded her that Sakura had smacked her head on the floor and would porbably have a bad headache when she woke up.

Sakura stumbled into the hallway, looking for anyone, she needed to go home. Her mother was no doubt frantic after not having heard from her daughter in hours. She failed to find anyone upstairs, but could make out the form of someone on the couch, just down the stairs. She looked at the spiral staircase and head spun again. "Hello?" She called out, deciding not to risk the stairs.

He awoke with a start, at first, unsure of what had awoken him. He listened for a moment, and heard Sakura call out from the top of the stairs. "Can some one take me home, please?"

He jumped off the couch and was up the stairs as fast as he could go. Before she could even blink, he had her wrapped tightly in his arms. "What are you doing up? You hit your head pretty hard, you need to lie back down." He picked her up when she didn't respond, and carried her back into his room. He placed her on the bed and sat beside her.

She looked at him, slowly recalling all of what had happened earlier. "Did you...did you meant it?" She asked hesitantly, refering of course to when he had told his father he chose her. He seemed surprised by the question, but was all too eager to confirm it. "Yes."

She fell back on the bed, blushign furiously, processing the turn of events. How could she be sure he wouldn't hurt her again though? He saw the question in her eyes and sighed internally. "I promise I'll treat you better. We won't have to hide it this time." She didn't look altogether reassured, so he decided perhaps his mother's obsessive need to plan the 'most romantic and sweet thing and Uchiha has EVER done' for the next night.

"I'll prove it to you. Tomorrow. After school, meet me at the gates. And...the dobe is miserable, change your classes back. I don't think I can take anymore of his whining."

Sakura walked out of the office the next morning, shaking like a leaf. They hadn't been happy to have to change her classes back, but they had done it. Now she was scared as hell of facing Sasuke, who's suspension and grounding had ended the pervious day. She didn't want to find out if she had hallucinated the whole conversation last night.

She approached the calculus classroom and bit her lip as she entered, and was tackled instantly by her best friend. "Sakura! You listened to teme! YAY!" He shouted, dragging her over to her favourite desk set by the window. "You get the window seat!" He brushed off the chair and pulled it out for her, making her smile. "Thank you Naruto."

Sasuke walked into the classroom to find Naruto taking the seat beside Sakura, and he felt the usual prick of jealousy. He fought the urge to kick the dobe out of the chair he had planned to take, after all, he had spent the majority of yesterday with the pinkette, and would be stealing her after school. Speaking of after school:

"Let's go for ramen, just like old times!" Naruto exclaimed, making Sakura blush and stutter, "I-uh...I have plans after school today Naruto." The blond frowned, "Bullshit! Who could be more important than your best friend!" His loud voice was begining to draw and audience as students filed into the room. Sakura swallowed hard and looked between the blond and Sasuke, wondering if she was actually allowed to tell him where people might over hear.

When he noticed her hesitance, Sasuke took matters into his own hands and bonked the dobe on the head to get his attention, "With me you idiot. We have a date." His voice hadn't been raised, but it seemed to echo through the room after he spoke.

The fangirls all looked crushed, and Sakura blushed harder. So she _was_ allowed to broadcast it then? _'Wait till I tell Ino!'_ She thought excitedly, as she caught a small smile from Sasuke. Oh god she could die happy right now. He was smiling _at_ her.

Sakura bolted from the room at lunch, promising to be early and save seats in the next class, so she could find her only female friend. When she saw the blond she shouted in joy, and sped up, planning to tackle her. "Innnnoooooo-piiiiig!" She called out as she got closer, gaining the attention of the whole hallway. "Forehead! What's got you so happy?"

Sakura skidded to a halt infront of Ino and grinned from ear to ear, "He asked me out! We have a date! And his dad doesn't mind!" It took the blond a moment to realise just who the pinkette was refering too, and then she squealed.

"Oh my gosh! You're dating publicly now!" While Ino had never been in on the secret relationship while it lasted, she had been one of the first to be informed after the break up. Sakura had been certain she was going to loose her only female friend when she brought it up, but the blond hadn't been mad. At least, not at Sakura. She'd been furious with Sasuke, but unable to vent her rage.

Sakura nodded happily, hugging her friend. She hadn't felt this good in a long time.

Sakura waited by the school gates for five minutes, then she saw Naruto and Sasuke running up to her, hitting each other as they got closer, in that destructively playful way boys interracted. "I want to go for ramen today though!" Naruto whined as Sasuke beat him to the pinkette and put his arm around her waist. "We can go out for ramen tomorrow dobe. Now stop complaining, this is what you wanted, isn't it?"

That silenced the blond male. All he could really do was nodd. "Well, I mean, yeah. But I haven't spent anytime with her in forever!" Sakura rolled her eyes at the blond, "Naruto, if you wait till tomorrow, I'll buy the ramen." In a flash he was out of there hair with a "Hell yeah!" floating on the air. "Good work." Sasuke said witha smirk as he lead her to his car (the window had been fixed a while ago.)

They pulled up to the theaters and Sasuke led her in, not letting her see the title of the movie they would be seeing. When the opening credits began to roll, she was schocked to find that they were watching the chick flick she had been dying to see since the summer. Sasuke _hated_ chick flicks.

The restraunt they went to after the movie had finished was modest, with a welcoming feeling in the air. Until their waitress came out. "Karin?" Sakura asked cautiously. She had not expected to see her tormentor working as a waitress. And Karin hadn't expected to see them here together. Sasuke was suspicious as they ordered their food, cautioning Sakura to watch out for spit and such.

When their meals arrived, neither wanted to be the first to try to food. The smirk on Karin's face as she walked away had just been too disturbing. With silent agreement they decided against touching the probably tainted food and left the restraunt.

As the walked through the park, each enjoying a hotdog from a stand on the corner, (Sasuke had tried to convince her to go to another restraunt, but she had insisted that hotdogs would be fine, and he gave in,) Sakura couldn't help but wonder what was next. The evening had already been everything she had ever wanted and more. She was a little worried that perhaps this was all a dream, and without realising it, she had muttered aloud, "If I'm dreaming, I never want to wake up again."

Sasuke smirked and took her spare hand in his own. "You're not dreaming." She blushed, and looked away from his intense gaze. Once they had finished their 'dinner', he pulled her over to a bench and made her sit down. Now came the hard part. He was pretty certain he'd have no pride left if he read what his mother wrote, but he didn't have much of a choice. When it came to their emotions, Uchiha men were not well versed. His mother had insisted, as she gave him the paper, that this was what his grandmother had made his father say when he proposed.

He cleared his throat and tried his hardest to repeat the words he had memorized, but it was so very hard when she wouldn't stop looking at him. "I know that I can be...a little rude," He started, trying to keep a blush off his face, because his father had reminded him that morning that Uchiha men do NOT blush. Although his mother had casually mentioned that he had blushed when he asked for her hand.

"but I l...I really li...fuck." He had chocked on 'love', just as he had known he would, and 'like' just sounded wrong. He could see the fear building in her eyes as he took longer to form his words. His handles fumbled in his pocket, searching for the ring box he could have sworn he'd had a minute ago. He panicked when he didn't find it, "Shit." He got off his knees infront of her and began searching frantically for the ring box. His mother would KILL him.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked hesitantly as he began to search the grass around them. She caught a flash of movement to their left and saw the girl from the hotdog stand running towards them, waving something about in her hand. "Hey!" She called out, getting Sasuke's attention as well. His heart did a backflip in his chest as he saw the box clutched in her hand. "Oh thank god. I left it at the hot dog stand." He stood up and walked over to the girl, who had stopped about ten feet short.

"You're one of Neji's friends, aren't you?" She asked, handing the box the the flustered and dirty Uchiha, "Unfortunately." He replied, opening the box to make sure the ring was still there. The pretty white gold band with the heart shaped diamon glittered up at him happily. "Aren't you younger than he is? Aren't you too young to get married?" She asked, earning a shrug in return. Yes, he was definitely one of Neji's friends.

"Maybe. Doesn't matter though." He turned around and walked away, giving a simple "Thanks."

Sakura watched the exchange silently, utterly confused until she caught a glimpse of the ring inside the box. _'Oh god. Is he going to?'_ She thought in a panic as he walked back over to her, looking nevrous.

He got back down on one knee before her and held out the box.

"I love you." He said quickly, relieved and worried now that he had finally gotten to say the words.

He flipped open the box and offered her the ring, "Will you marry me? When we've graduated?"

Sakura launched herself into his arms, "Yes! I love you too! But if you ever-" "I won't." "Good. Or else I'd have to castrate you." He stiffened at the threat, but shrugged it off. Not like he was planning to hurt her ever again anyway.

the end


End file.
